…it is only by embracing the technology of the future that we can build an economy that is fit for the future.

And it is our future that I want to talk about tonight.

Because, yes, we face economic challenges…

…our productivity growth is far too low…

Of course, our negotiations with the EU are in a critical phase…

…and getting the right deal…

…and an implementation period to allow us to adjust to it…

…will be vitally important in the short-term.

But the long-term future of Britain’s economy is about much more than these negotiations.

We are on the brink of a technological revolution…

…and this time, Britain is genuinely at the forefront of it…

…and if we are to deliver higher living standards for people up and down this country….

…we must prepare Britain so that it can embrace this future…

…and seize the opportunities that it brings.

And this is as important for our financial and professional services sector as for any other.

Not only because you represent 11% of our economy…

…one in 14 of all UK jobs (two-thirds of them outside of London)…

…and contribute over £80 billion of tax revenues…

…[which I am particularly happy about.]

But because this sector has been at the forefront of innovation and technological change for many centuries…

…and it is once again.

Our success, historically, has been based on being the most open and most dynamic financial sector in the world…

…on the ability to continuously innovate and adapt as the world around us changes.

We did it in Elizabethan London when trade turned the City into the world’s biggest international banking bazaar…

…we did it in the post-war period when the dollar became the pre-eminent global reserve currency, but London’s more dynamic approach allowed it to fight off competition from New York…

…and we’re doing it now – for example, in FinTech, a sector that barely existed a decade ago – that now employs
60,000 people right across the UK….

…and received a record £2.1 billion investment in the first three quarters of this year.

And as The CityUK are quick to remind us…

…it isn’t just about financial services…

…it is about the whole ecosystem we have built here over decades…

…with the critical mass of banking, asset management, insurance, law, accountancy, consulting, and other vital
business support services.

It is this government’s priority to achieve an outcome from our negotiations with the European Union that maintains effective, mutual access to European markets…

…and ensures the UK remains a global financial and professional services hub.

But I have no doubt, that whatever the outcome of the negotiations…

…the UK has the history…

…the advantages of our timezone, our language, and our legal system…

…and the talent, the capital markets, and the tech sector…

…to remain the world’s leading financial centre.

Passporting did not create the City of London.

And when we look back in twenty years…

…what will define the UK’s success will be less how we handle Brexit…

…than how we have grasped the opportunities, and embraced the challenges, of technological change.

The facts speak for themselves.

Since the referendum, professional services have grown three times as fast as the whole economy…

…we’ve already seen double the amount raised in London through IPOs this year as in the whole of 2016…

…and London has once again been named the world’s number one financial centre.

But we cannot and will not rest on our laurels.

We must act now to ensure that in the face of rapid global change…

…the UK remains the number one place in the world to conduct financial and professional services business.

Our regulatory environment must continue to adapt…

…it’s not just about making sure regulation doesn’t get in the way of business…

…it’s about using the British skill for regulatory innovation as a comparative advantage.

That’s why we have given our regulators a mandate to ensure we have the world’s most accommodative regime
for FinTech development…

…from the FCA’s ‘regulatory sandbox’…

…to the Bank of England’s ‘FinTech Accelerator’.

And we must reach out across the globe to build new relationships and unlock new markets…

…as we have done by becoming the Western Hub for Renminbi trading…

…and striking four FinTech Bridge agreements, as well as working on a fifth with Australia which I hope we’ll sign soon.

Tomorrow we go further…

…my colleague, Steve Barclay the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, will launch our Second Investment Management Strategy to ensure our world leading asset management industry continues to thrive:

We’ve established a new Asset Management taskforce to shape the strategy and lead work between government, regulators and industry to enhance the UK’s position as Europe’s leading asset management centre;

We’re backing new centres of excellence, linked to higher education institutions, to build a pipeline of talent and expand our skills base for the future;

We’re supporting projects to position the UK as a leader in FinTech asset management solutions, such as developing lower cost digital funds;

…and finally, we will consult in due course on how we can improve the tax treatment of short-term business visitors from foreign branches – something which I know has been an issue for financial and professional services firms.

Of course, I recognise that for companies in this room, a key focus right now is the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.

You will forgive me if I don’t offer a blow-by-blow commentary of the last 48 hours…

…I’ll leave that sort of speculation to the newspapers…

…although I have had a very productive day in Brussels…

…but I can tell you that we have made good progress in the negotiations over the last few weeks…

…and I am optimistic that we will achieve sufficient progress at the Council next week, and move on to the next stage of the negotiations.

And in those negotiations on our future relationship…

…I have every confidence that we will reach an outcome that supports the UK’s position as the number one global financial centre…

…an outcome that represents a good deal for our Financial and Business Services industry.

At my Mansion House speech in June, I spoke of three principles to underpin a good deal on financial services:

The importance of a smooth and orderly exit…

…the importance of preserving reciprocal access to each other’s markets for goods and services…

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